Benefits of Agricultural UAVs Aerial Spray

 What is UAV Aerial Spray(无人机飞防)?

Aerial Spray is a high-efficiency effective method for spraying pesticides through general-purpose UAVs, and it has the advantages that other conventional measures are incomparable.

What is Plant-protection Aerial Spray?

Plant protection Aerial Spray refers to a new crop protection method that uses small remote-controlled drones to spray pesticides at low altitudes to achieve the prevention and control of crop diseases and insect pests.

Drones become a new helper in agriculture

As spring arrives, everything grows, and the farmers start to get busy. Zhao Jianjun, a new farmer from Yiyang City, China got busy early. At 7:00 in the morning, he had to arrive at the rapeseed field to spray pesticides with agricultural drones for farmer clients.

Smart drone spraying has many benefits

Standing in the field, looking around, the rapeseed field of more than 430 mu is very broad. The farmers who come to work here either ride motorcycles or drive cars. If you choose to spray water and pesticides manually on such a large area, It is really time-consuming and labor-intensive, but the emergence of drones has promoted the intelligentization of agriculture and brought good news to farmers.

"Using drones to spray potion is very convenient and easy." Zhao Jianjun, an agricultural drone pilot, introduced that he is a veteran. After retiring in 2018, he bought agricultural drones to start a business at the suggestion of his comrades. "The current operating site has more than 430 acres of land. Under the condition of ensuring the spraying effect, the drone can be used to complete the work in about 6 hours."

Zhao Jianjun currently owns 4 agricultural drones, and has more than 300 acres of land in his home. In addition to flying and plant protection for his own home, he also provides agricultural drone planting and spraying services for other farmers in the town. The average annual operating area exceeds 3 About 10,000 acres.

Good or Bad to Use Agricultural Drones for Spraying?

With the advancement of the times and technology, the use of drones in agriculture and forestry to replace manual pesticide application has gradually been recognized by the market. However, drones also have their advantages as well as disadvantages, only by well understanding which, can they serve us better.

Merits of Drone Spraying

Drones spraying saves time and labor

The speed of the drone application operation is quite fast. It takes dozens of minutes to do the work, which is equivalent to the workload of one day or even two days of manual work, and the efficiency is quite high. For example, when working on ten acres of land, it takes about 2 days for a single person to spray pesticides manually, and it can be easily completed in about 20 minutes using a plant protection drone. Therefore, the efficiency of drones is dozens of times higher than that of humans. In addition, most of the diseases and insect pests caused by crops will break out in a short period of time. The sooner the prevention and control is done, the damage to crops can be minimized and yield reduction can be avoided. Therefore, UAV operations are time-saving, labor-saving, fast and efficient.

Outlook for the Agricultural UAV Industry in 2022 1000-yuan Drones will Emerge

In the past 2021, the drone industry has achieved tremendous development, the technology has continued to mature, and its applications have continued to land. Now that 2022 has begun, and the Year of the Tiger is coming, how will the industry change in the new year? The World Wide Web Drone Channel interviewed industry insiders in various fields.

The consumer drone market will see a thousand yuan machine

Industry insiders have mentioned in many sub-sectors that the global "lack of cores" problem has also affected the drone industry. On the one hand, the firmness of hardware prices limits the further decline of product prices; on the other hand, it is more difficult for small manufacturers with small purchases to obtain goods. Such problems already existed last year, and one of them believes that this year, the situation will not worsen, but the status quo will be maintained.

Agricultural drones

These two points have a greater impact on consumer drones. A research and development staff of a start-up company who requested anonymity said that DJI’s product line is now very complete, ranging from professional aerial cameras that exceed 10,000 yuan to two or three. Thousands of entry-level products are available. DJI's professional aerial camera is a widely recognized productivity tool. Some fields regard its shooting ability as a rigid need, and other manufacturers are difficult to leverage regardless of the price; while entry-level products should pursue cost-effectiveness, but suffer from problems such as "lack of cores". Influenced, the cost performance of late-launching companies is not going up. If users want to take into account both the fun of flying and the shooting effect, the cheapest choice is DJI's Mini series. "Most consumers are very rational and will not pay for their feelings."

However, he said that for ordinary other manufacturers, there is still another opportunity: the thousand yuan machine. He said that next year, a number of companies will launch entry-level drones at the thousand yuan level and sell them directly to consumers through e-commerce platforms. Due to cost constraints, these models cannot be equipped with a gimbal and can only use electronic image stabilization. The video quality will be poor, but the flight performance is acceptable. He believes that there are several types of people who need such products: ① People who just like to fly, and many "flying friends" don't shoot things, but just like to fly; ② Give gifts, such as drones, which are very high-tech products. Face, but ordinary people still think it is too expensive; ③Beginners, some beginners will want to buy cheap models to practice their hands first.

Although the shooting level has been abandoned a lot, these models are not toys, and they also need to compete with the technical strength of the company. He said that these thousand-yuan drones also have GPS, and have the ability to return to home autonomously.

How do rat race in agricultural drones run? 

In the past few years, a large number of small and medium-sized manufacturers were producing plant protection drones, but in the past two years, most of them have given up this market. Zhang Ruirui, director of the Aviation Application Technology Department of the National Agricultural Intelligent Equipment Engineering Technology Research Center, believes that it is not wise for small and medium-sized enterprises to compete with the functions of DJI and Jifei products. The top priority of other enterprises is differentiated competition.

He said that the release of DJI and Jifei 40kg payload products put a lot of pressure on other multi-rotor drone manufacturers. The 40 kg class is a difficult threshold, which puts forward higher technical requirements for motors, airframes, flight controls, etc., and significantly increases manufacturing costs. It is no longer possible to significantly improve the competitiveness of products.

How To Choose A Right Drone

Every time we see the photos taken from the sky view, we feel very overwhelmed, don't we? We are often attracted by this unique perspective. Therefore, many photography enthusiasts want to have their own drones. To take pictures of the vast beauty of the city, ancient town, and hometown. Before shooting, it is very important to buy a drone that suits you. This article is a quick guide to drones.

1. What is a drone? Its beauty can shock your vision...

Unmanned aerial vehicles, "UAV" for short, are also known as "drones". It is a kind of unmanned aircraft, which mainly uses radio remote control equipment and self-provided program control device to control the flight of the device. Some drones use computers to intermittently or completely control the flight. On the Qixi Festival (July 7 in lunar calendar, the Chinese version of Valentine's Day) of 2018, some held a drone light show in Changsha city of central China. 777 drones flew in the air at the same time, changing different shapes and styles, flashing different lights, and it was amazing, as shown below.

Nowadays, many photography enthusiasts like to use drones to take pictures, so that they can show the charm of their works from different perspectives and bring their audience more beautiful scenery. As the drone market becomes more and more mature, the current drones are getting smaller and more convenient to carry around, such as DJI's Mavic 2 series drones.

2. Learn about the types of drones and compare similar products before buying

UAVs can be divided into military and civilian use according to their application fields. Civil UAVs are shown in Figure 1-3. If distinguished from the technical point of view of unmanned aerial vehicle, it can be divided into unmanned helicopter, unmanned fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned multi-rotor aircraft, unmanned airship, unmanned para-wing aircraft, and so on. UAVs dedicated to photography like the DJI series, such as the DJI Phantom series and Mavic series, are unmanned multi-rotor drones for civilian use.

DJI has 3 series of drones that are deeply loved by users, namely the DJI Phantom series, DJI Mavic series and DJI Inspire series, each series Each has its own characteristics. The DJI Mavic series is light and easy to carry. The folding structure design makes the machine take up less space. It can be accommodated even in the corner of the bag; the DJI Phantom series is a mid-range half Professional drones, with strong wind resistance and good shooting quality, are mainly used by many general aerial photography practitioners and in-depth aerial photography enthusiasts, as shown in Figure 1-4; the DJI Inspire series of drones The body is deformable and supports dual controls. The camera can be rotated independently, and the picture control is more precise. The highest-level X7 gimbal carries an APC frame sensor, which can shoot lossless DNG format video with excellent picture quality and is suitable for professional film and television aerial photography.

Although the three series introduced above are well-loved by users, the DJI Mavic series is the most popular. Therefore, in the following subsections, we will focus on the "Mavic" series. 

3. Why is the Mavic series so popular?

I started with the DJI Phantom 2 and used Phantom 3, Phantom 4, and 4P. Every time I go out with a big bag, it is almost impossible to carry other equipment except for drones and necessary batteries and other accessories. The folding frame structure of the DJI Mavic series shocked the aerial photography circle from the moment it appeared, and can accommodate a drone design to such a small size. Although the size of the DJI Mavic has been reduced, the image quality has not been reduced. DJI's Mavic series drones can shoot 4K resolution video, 12 to 20 million pixel lossless DNG photos, with clear image quality, which can meet most shooting needs.

The Mavic series is further subdivided into multiple sub-series such as Mavic Pro, Mavic Air, and Mavic 2. The appearance of the two models is the same except for the camera. The Mavic 2 zoom version of the camera carries a 1/2.3 inch photosensitive chip, and the lens can perform optical zoom during aerial photography, with a focal length ranging from 24mm to 48mm. Although the lens of the Mavic 2 Professional Edition can't zoom, it carries a 1-inch Hasselblad sensor. The pixels are higher when taking photos and the quality of night scene photos is better. In terms of price, the Mavic 2 Professional The more expensive version is more popular with aerial photography enthusiasts.

I have used many drones. The Mavic 2 is very suitable for photography enthusiasts, especially users who like to travel. If the price is acceptable, you can start with a Mavic 2 professional drone. 

4. How to choose a drone that suits you and is cost-effective

When buying a drone, cost performance and practicality are very important. The performance, function and focus of each UAV are different. You must first choose the most suitable UAV according to your purpose.

For novices in the field of aerial photography, it is recommended to buy a drone named Tello under the banner of DJI, practice the feel and flight movements, and master the basic flying skills of the drone. Novice bombers often happen. If the movement and direction of the flight are not well mastered, it is easy to make mistakes and bomb the aircraft. Therefore, you can buy a cheap drone and practice first. Even if it breaks, it won't be too distressed. After you have mastered some flying skills, you can buy a slightly better drone, so you have the basic technical guarantee.

For photography enthusiasts, if you have a certain level of photography and enter the field of aerial photography in order to expand your professional skills, you can buy DJI's "Phantom" series or "Mavic" series, these two series They are all suitable. In terms of portability, the Mavic series is more suitable for outings because it is lightweight and does not take up space, which is also the first choice for most photographers.

Professional photographers in films, TV series, commercials and other fields can choose to purchase DJI's "Inspire" series. This drone is more powerful and can be deformed like a robot. When shooting, the drone frame rises, giving the lower camera a full range of rotation shooting space. Inspire 2 provides dual remote control and a separate front FPV camera. The pilot can directly watch the FPV front camera screen while flying, while the gimbal can watch the camera screen to control the camera's rotation. Inspire 2 can shoot up to 6K lossless DNG format video, even if it is shot in low light environment, it can also achieve good image quality, which is very suitable for professional film and television and high-demand video creators. 

5. Precautions for buying drones, this will suffer if you don't know

When we determine which type of drone to buy, we must also understand the technical parameters of this drone, such as the stability of the aircraft, flight speed, remote control distance, camera focal length, camera and video resolution, etc. , These parameters have reference significance for us to buy drones. These parameters are generally available on the official website of DJI, and will not be explained here.

Before purchasing a drone, you must also know what accessories the drone has. When inspecting the goods, check whether the received accessories and items are complete. I bought a Mavic 2 drone before, and found that a USB adapter was missing when I received the goods. Finally, I asked the merchant to reissue it in time. The same small accessories may not be worth much, but it is not worthwhile to spend time to buy when you need them, and it takes time and effort, so all the necessary items must be checked.

After receiving the UAV, it is also necessary to conduct a flight test as soon as possible to check the flight performance, the photography and camera functions, and so on. The author once encountered a situation where the compass of the Phantom 4P could not be calibrated. After many attempts, it still didn't work. Later, DJI directly replaced me with a new one.

6. Could it be illegal to play drones? Let's take a look at this first

Since 2017, drone "black flying" incidents have occurred in Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming and other airports, and multiple drones have invaded the airport clearance protection area, causing multiple flight delays and forced descents, which seriously affected air transportation flights. Safety.

After that, DJI updated the no-fly zone, and real-name registration was required to purchase drones. Therefore, before flying, we must understand the drone's flight restrictions and restricted areas. The restricted-flying area can be queried on the DJI UAV, and the UAV cannot unlock the motor to take off after positioning in this type of area.

People often take drones abroad for aerial photography. It should be noted that most European and American countries are banned from flying in urban areas, and national parks in the United States are also banned. Everyone must check clearly, so as not to accidentally violate the law and Tianjin regulations, the consequences are very serious. The less serious case may be the confiscation of the drone or a high fine; the more serious case will be subject to criminal detention or even conviction.

When the UAV is close to the restricted area, its performance will be affected to different degrees. For example, the flying speed of the UAV will be reduced, related flight operations will not be possible, and the flight operations being performed will be suspended. If you want to take off a drone in an unfamiliar city, you must first check whether it belongs to a restricted-flying area. It can be easily inquired through the mobile App, the method is as follows.

What Is The Fastest RC Car In The World?

 

What is an RC car?

An RC Car or Radio-Controlled car, is a toy grade miniature model car or truck that are controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote.

Many people may have played four-wheel drive racing car when they were young, using a remote control and they would "travel over mountains" at home. However, it is a toy after all, and the speed is very slow. Then have you ever imagined transforming your car, increasing the speed?

What is the fastest RC car in the world?

But James Beswick, a British RC car enthusiast, had a whim. In order to design his own remote control car, he not only bought 3D printing equipment, but also taught himself the design software, and finally successfully designed this car with a total length of 1.2 Meters of high-speed remote control car.

James Beswick designed his high-speed 3D remote control car

Car body design of low air drag

In order to reduce air resistance and increase the RC car speed, James made the body of the RC car very narrow and long, similar to bullet train. The printing material selected PLA/PHA wire with good elasticity and strong vibration damping ability, because this material has high strength and is not easy to deform.

Make it to he worlds's fastest RC car list

James also chose the same material when printing the car shell and brackets. In the speed experiment, this 3D-printed remote control car was on the world remote control car speed list, reaching a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, and was in the list. Ranked 11th, James said that he is very keen to win. He will not stop the pace of continuous improvement, he hopes to reach the top of the list, breaking the record of 324 kilometers per hour  taken by the Bullet RC car.

What Is A UAV?

 

What is a UAV?

UAV is short for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. UAV is rather technical, its common name is Drone. A UAV refers to an aircraft without any human on board (neither pilot nor passengers). Instead, it is operated controled through radio remote control equipment and a pre-installed program.

From the technical perspective, UAVs can be classified into: unmanned fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned vertical take-off and landing aircraft, unmanned airships, unmanned helicopters, unmanned multi-rotor aircraft, unmanned para-wing aircraft, etc. Compared with manned aircraft, it has the advantages of small size, low cost, convenient use, low requirements for the combat environment, and strong battlefield survivability. 

Due to the importance of unmanned aircraft for future air warfare, major military powers in the world are stepping up the development of UAVs. In November 2013, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued the "Interim Regulations on the Management of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System Pilots", and the China AOPA Association is responsible for the related management of civilian drones. According to the "Regulations", the operation of drones in mainland China can be divided into 11 situations according to the size of the aircraft type and the flying airspace. Among them, only drones of 116 kg or more and airships of 4,600 cubic meters or more flying in the converged airspace are managed by the Civil Aviation Administration. , The rest, including other flights including the increasingly popular miniature aerial vehicles, are managed by industry associations or by the operators themselves.

UAV Models & Classification

UAV technology sees rapid development in recent years. The wide variety of UAV systems, the distinctive features and their wide range of uses have resulted in great differences in size, quality, range, flight duration, flight altitude, flight speed, and missions. Due to the diversity of drones, there are different classification methods for different considerations:

(1) According to the flight platform configuration, UAVs can be divided into fixed-wing UAVs, rotary-wing UAVs, unmanned airships, para-wing UAVs, and flapping-wing UAVs.

(2) Classified by purpose, UAVs can be divided into military UAVs and civilian UAVs. Military UAVs can be divided into reconnaissance UAVs, decoy UAVs, electronic countermeasure UAVs, communication relay UAVs, unmanned fighter jets and drones, etc.; civilian UAVs can be divided into inspection/surveillance unmanned Drones, agricultural drones, meteorological drones, exploration drones, surveying drones, etc.

(3) According to scale classification (civil aviation regulations), UAVs can be divided into micro UAVs, light UAVs, small UAVs and large UAVs. Micro drone refers to a drone with an airborne mass of less than or equal to 7kg, a light drone with a mass of greater than 7kg, but less than or equal to 116kg, and in full-horsepower level flight, the corrected airspeed is less than 100km/h (55nmile/h), The ceiling is less than 3000m. Small drones refer to drones with an airborne mass of 5700kg or less, except for micro and light drones. Large drones refer to drones with an empty aircraft mass greater than 5700kg.

(4) According to the radius of activity, UAVs can be divided into ultra-short-range UAVs, short-range UAVs, short-range UAVs,

(5) Medium-range drones and long-range drones. The active radius of ultra-short-range UAVs is within 15km, the active radius of short-range UAVs is between 15-50km, the radius of short-range UAVs is between 50-200km, and the radius of medium-range UAVs is 200-800km. In between, the long-range UAV has a radius of activity greater than 800km.

(6) Classified by mission height, drones can be divided into ultra-low-altitude drones, low-altitude drones, medium-altitude drones,

(7) High-altitude drones and ultra-high-altitude drones. The mission height of ultra-low-altitude drones is generally between 0 and loom, the mission height of low-altitude drones is generally between 100 and 1000m, the mission height of medium-altitude drones is generally between 1000 and 7000m, and the mission height of high-altitude drones is general. Between 7000 and 18000m, the mission height of the ultra-high-altitude UAV is generally greater than 18000m. [9] 

In September 2018, the 62nd meeting of the Harmonized System Committee (HSC) of the World Customs Organization decided to classify drones as "flying cameras". As UAVs are categorized as "flying cameras" and thus they can be supervised under the category of "cameras".